Author: Dunlop, IanPublisher: Constable & Robinson LimiYear: 2004ISBN: 1841195308Binding: Hard CoverBook Condition: As NewJacket Condition: As NewSize: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tallDescription: New book, 315 pages. Britain and France have rarely been great friends, and towards the end of Queen Victoria's reign relations were exceptionally poor. Yet only three years after her death the situation was completely revised. On 8th April 1904 the Entente Cordiale was signed between the two countries, a bond that would prove of considerable importance as the world moved towards its first great war. The detailed negotiations of the Entente was the work of two Foreign Secretaries, the Marquess of Lansdowne and Theophile Delcasse. Their task was not easy - but it could not have been contemplated without the amazing influence and tireless efforts of Edward VII. Often regarded as a lightweigth ruler - fond of women, racing and cigars, and not fond of hard work - a very different king emerges from Dunlop's portrait, based on the testimony of those who knew him best and were closest to events.